Release Detail

February 22, 2006 - GOP's Crist Has Early Lead In Florida Governor's Race,
Quinnipiac University Poll Finds;
Voters Say Use Surplus For Services, Not Tax Cuts

Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist is emerging as an early favorite in this year's
Governor's race to replace incumbent Gov. Jeb Bush, leading in a possible Republican primary
and slightly ahead of possible Democratic contenders, according to a Quinnipiac University
poll released today.

"It's early in the election year and a lot of voters are undecided, but at this point Attorney
General Charlie Crist is the strongest candidate to succeed Jeb Bush in Tallahassee," said Clay F.
Richards, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "In a possible matchup
between Crist and U.S. Rep. Jim Davis, the Democratic leader at this point, the campaign could
focus on independent voters, who presently favor the Republican 35 - 31 percent."

Crist is the most well known of the four contenders, but even here 47 percent haven't
heard enough to form an opinion. For Gallagher, 49 percent haven't heard enough. That number
jumps to 77 percent for Davis and 82 percent for Smith.

State Budget Surplus

By a 60 - 33 percent margin, Florida voters want to use surplus funds in the state budget to
address state needs, rather than for property, sales and investment tax cuts as proposed by Gov.
Bush. Republican voters favor tax cuts 53 - 40 percent while Democrats want to address other
needs 75 - 17 percent and independent voters want to address other needs 64 - 30 percent.

In an open-ended question, where voters can give any answer, 21 percent of Florida
voters listed education-related issues as the most important problem facing the state today, with
10 percent who list economic issues, 9 percent who list housing and over-population and only 2
percent who list taxes.

"Gov. Bush may face a tough sell on his tax cut package. Voters, even 40 percent of
Republican voters, apparently think that the tax windfall from the real estate boom could be better
spent on other state programs, rather than returning part of it to them in tax cuts," said Peter A.
Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "Based on other
questions, education is a likely voter priority for spending the budget surplus."

From February 15 - 20, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,076 Florida registered voters
with a margin of error of +/- 3 percentage points. The survey includes 429 Democratic voters
with a margin of error of +/- 4.7 percentage points and 443 Republican voters with a margin of
error of +/- 4.7 percentage points.

The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public
opinion surveys in Florida, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and the nation as
a public service and for research.
For additional data-www.quinnipiac.edu and quicklinks

1. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Jeb Bush is handling his job as
Governor?

23. The real estate boom has produced a state budget surplus of more than 3
billion dollars. Governor Bush wants to use 1.5 billion dollars of the surplus
for property, sales, and investment tax cuts. Do you support Governor Bush's
proposed tax cuts or would you prefer the surplus money be spent on other state
needs?